Trying to decide between the two cars. M is pure sports car but no back seat (I have 3 kids, but we have other cars) and higher maintenance costs due to needing to have the valves adjusted every 15k miles. Had an '07 e90 335i, with a manual transmission and loved it, but lease ended and I got weird need for an RX8 R3. No limited slip on the 335 always annoyed me too.

So you guys think the 335 will be close enough in the fun category to make it a good choice? Or should I stick with the M and go with the pure sports car.

I live in a small town so I never drive too far, I work from home so I never have to deal with traffic, but I have two kids that can't drive yet. My oldest will be getting his license this year and we're going to get him an SUV so we will have the family truckster, and my wife has a MB C-Class.

My car will not quite be a daily driver, but close to it.

Would also consider an A5 but unless it's an S5 there just really isn't any performance there. Also considered a TT.

Also, do the buttons switch gears fast enough on the automatics? I might do that but I would definitely switch to the proper M3 style paddle layout.

Get a 335i coupe and tune the dickens out of that sweet N54. It'll be newer than the M roadster and you can easily hand it down to the next driver without a problem. (That's stretching a bit, though :P)
I personally think the E85 Z4 is one of the ugliest cars BMW has ever put out.

If you want more hard core performance machine that is super fun then Z4 M roadster. If you want the ability to carry 4 people in a bit more comfort without sacrificing and still enjoy sporty driving then E92 335i M sport.

I had a Z4 si coupe for a couple of months before I traded it for my 335. The Z4 was great at first but on longer trips it became cramped and lacked legroom and headroom. Be sure to test drive the Z4 with that in mind because they're pretty small. At first it seemed ok, but in the end it was a deal breaker for me.

It was great. Like all RX-8's a bit underpowered, but the handling was phenomenal. I also had an '04 RX-8 GT - top of the line at that time and I thought the rear suspension on that one was too soft. They fixed that in the R3. They could not have tuned the R3 suspension any better. It's really that good. I've even thought about getting another one with low low miles and turbocharging it.

...we have other cars
...Had an '07 e90 335i, with a manual transmission and loved it, but lease ended ...

...

I live in a small town ...have two kids that can't drive yet. My oldest will be getting his license this year and we're going to get him an SUV so we will have the family truckster, and my wife has a MB C-Class.

My car will not quite be a daily driver, but close to it.

I think the first sentence pretty well tells you whats most important: you have other cars, plural. Accordingly, I don't think it matters much whether you get the 335i or the Z4 M. Get whichever one you and your wife like best after discussing it, and test driving the cars, with her, not us. You have an embarrassing luxury one might describe as a "lack of any specific need," so there's no logical basis for deciding.

You obviously don't need one car that can function as a "jack of all trades." So, given what you've told us, I suggest you get the Z4M because the C Class will do anything the 335i can/would as goes day to day usage and the Z4M will cover the sporting desire where the C Class falls short.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GH32335i

Would also consider an A5 but unless it's an S5 there just really isn't any performance there. Also considered a TT.

Also, do the buttons switch gears fast enough on the automatics? I might do that but I would definitely switch to the proper M3 style paddle layout.

Just looking for thoughts. Thanks.

In addition to what I've said above, I think you and your wife need to go out and drive some cars, most likely an S5, Z4M, TT(?), and a 335i/435i (it's not clear whether you want ta new or used car, but if you want a new 335i couple, you probably need to get a move on while there are still new ones to be had.). I think driving the cars will tell you whether the "button" (I presume you mean the shift paddles/levers on the steering column) yield fast enough response times and it'll let you narrow your choice down to one. That the current automatic transmissions shift more quickly than humans are physically able to do is a fact. Whether you enjoy driving an automatic is something you have to decide for yourself.

Out of curiosity, what is it that makes a grown man aged 30+, with at least 2 children, one of whom is around 16, a wife, a home, obvious experience making decisions not only for himself, but for his family, and a successful career be unable to figure out for himself what kind of car to buy? Moreover, a man who is so perplexed that he would enjoin all the 30K different opinions that don't matter from people on B-post??? The very idea that such a man exists makes no sense to me. Every single person I know -- male or female -- having the qualities I noted above would -- if they even discussed the decision with their closest friends, which they probably wouldn't -- would simply appear one day saying "look what I got" not asking before the fact "what should I do?"